Free Republic

When the term paleo-conservative is floated in conversation, most folks imagine a creature out of Jurassic World. But paleo-conservatism — a near extinct brand of conservatism that heralds limited government, nonintervention, economic nationalism and Western traditions — is finding a comeback in an unlikely spokesperson. The history-making campaign of Donald Trump is turning the clock of U.S. politics back to a time when hubris was heroic and the truth, no matter how blunt, was king. It is resurrecting a political thought that does not play by the rules of modern politics. And as the nation saw the top-tier GOP candidates...

Pat Buchanan's new book Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025 is the bluntest and most cogent statement of the truth about the present course of Western civilization that has been seen in American bookstores in many years. In this book, Pat takes the gloves off and hits the American Left with the Hard Right. He knocks the liberal establishment out of the ring. Everything that real conservatives have privately known to be true for generations is finally aired in this brave and long overdue new book. Christianity is the foundation of Western civilization. As people of European...

Remember Ron Paul? Congressman Ron Paul? The long-term libertarian-like representative from Texas who's even older than McCain? The guy with a leased blimp who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and came within something like 1,000 delegates of upsetting the Arizonan. Paul lasted a lot longer than Romney, who had to write off some $40 million of his own dough. And Paul's hundreds of thousands of dedicated supporters way-outraised that preacher Huckabee who's now all over Fox News, which, btw, is the network that barred Paul from its New Hampshire GOP debate because he had no chance. Although, to...

That Old-Time ReligionThe Ron Paul temptation.By John DerbyshireGo on, admit it: you have felt the Ron Paul temptation, haven’t you? And it’s not just the thrill of imagining another president named Ron, is it? Ron Paul believes a lot of what you believe, and what I believe. You don’t imagine he’s going to be the 44th POTUS, but you kind of hope he does well none the less.And why not? Look at those policy positions! Abolish the IRS and Federal Reserve; balance the budget; go back to the gold standard; pull out of the U.N. and NATO; end the War...

April 24, 2006 Issue Copyright © 2006 The American Conservative  Where Have All the Conservatives Gone?  The Republican Party’s top contenders for 2008 aren’t paleoconservatives—or any other kind.  By W. James Antle III  Come 2008, who will succeed George W. Bush at the helm of a troubled Republican Party? Though the next presidential race is far off, the question is already on conservatives’ minds.The last few months haven’t been kind to Republican operatives who assumed President Bush’s slide in popularity would be temporary. Instead, his approval ratings have settled below 40 percent, averaging 38 percent over the last four Gallup...

The observant will have noticed that we hear little from the troops in Iraq and see almost nothing of the wounded. Why, one might wonder, does not CNN put an enlisted Marine before a camera and, for 15 minutes without editing, let him say what he thinks? Is he not an adult and a citizen? Is he not engaged in important events on our behalf? Sound political reasons exist. Soldiers are a risk PR-wise, the wounded a liability. No one can tell what they might say, and conspicuous dismemberment is bad for recruiting. An enlisted man in front of a...

I've been reading National Review for a while now, and thoroughly enjoying it--save for a few writers whom I cannot stand (*coughDavidFrumcough*). But I'm beginning to think that I really ought to get a good Paleoconservative magazine to balance it out and diversify my thought. What would you all recommend? I know Chronicles is kind of the "flagship" mag for Paleocons, but I've heard good things about The American Conservative, as well. What are some of the differences between the two, and which would you prefer? Or is there a third magazine that would be better still?

"Nobody in my district is screaming for tax cuts, they are screaming for a prescription drug benefit." Maxine Waters? Nope, try Republican Congressman Steven LaTourette of Ohio. "I'm concerned. This budget is essentially $11 billion under the president's number." Barney Frank? Wrong again-it comes from New York Republican Sherwood Boehlert. "I don't like what I see so far." Nancy Pelosi? Sorry, it's House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis -- Republican, Virginia. The target of their sniping is Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, chairman of the House Budget Committee. It turns out that in writing the FY2004 House Budget Resolution, Nussle...

<p>Federal regulators plan to overhaul fuel economy rules for popular trucks and SUVs, including more stringent regulations that would cover the popular Hummer H2 and other extra-large SUVs for the first time.</p> <p>Two proposals under consideration would revamp what constitutes a light truck starting with the 2008 model year.</p>

One of the “lost causes” to which libertarians are attached—and one of the most important—is that of the “isolationist” Old Right. As used by the late Murray Rothbard, among others, the term “Old Right” refers to a loose coalition opposed to the New Deal in both its domestic and foreign aspects. While not following a strict party line, Old Rightists largely spoke from the ground of classical liberalism and classical republicanism. This earned them epithets like “conservative” and “reactionary” since those two outlooks were rooted in actual American life. Having something to conserve made them “conservatives”—a terrible thing from the...

What would victory in the war on terror consist of? As I&#8217;ve written recently, President Bush doesn't seem to have any idea. All he says is that we've got to "stay the course" in Iraq until, somehow, the Ba'athist and Jihadist resistance ceases. But, I've asked, what if it doesn't cease? An antidote to the dangerous muddiness of the Bush administration's thought process is provided by Mark Helprin in an article at the Claremont Review. While the piece, like all Helprin's writings, is wordy and overcharged with adrenaline, it contains this clarifying insight: [T]here can be but one effective strategy...

Neocon 101 Some basic questions answered. What do neoconservatives believe? - "Neocons" believe that the United States should not be ashamed to use its unrivaled power – forcefully if necessary – to promote its values around the world. Some even speak of the need to cultivate a US empire. Neoconservatives believe modern threats facing the US can no longer be reliably contained and therefore must be prevented, sometimes through preemptive military action. - Today, both conservatives and neocons favor a robust US military. But most conservatives express greater reservations about military intervention and so-called nation building. Neocons share no...

State of ConfusionBrouhahas — intellectual and otherwise. Conservatives are accustomed to liberals not understanding the zoology of our movement. But the use and abuse of the term "neoconservative" has exceeded even the high allowance for cliché and ignorance generally afforded to those who write or talk about conservatism from outside the conservative ant farm. In fact, neoconservative has become a Trojan Horse for vast arsenal of ideological attacks and insinuations. For some it means Jewish conservative. For others it means hawk. A few still think it means squishy conservative or ex-liberal. And a few don't even know what the word...

The split between neoconservatives and paleoconservatives over the Iraq war goes deeper than many realize. Their differences on ethnic issues are threatening to become the biggest internal battle conservatives will face this decade. Modern conservatism has generally encompassed multiple forms. Over the last half of the 20th century, each decade has contained at least two identifiable strains of conservatism. The 1950’s saw the onset of modern conservatism, beginning with William F. Buckley’s intellectual National Review, which established conservatism as a force against communism and its milder American counterpart, the New Deal. It was an international conservatism, unlike the establishment...

Here is a list of recent threads related to the current hot debate between the so-called "neoconservatives" or as some call them, "Canadian conservatives," and the so-called "paleoconservatives." This debate all started with an article from National Review by David Frum titled "Unpatriotic Conservatives." Unpatriotic Conservatives by David Frum Unpatriotic Conservatives: A war against America.When the shooting starts (Novak responds to Frum) Robert Novak: Wrong, But Still a Patriot: David Frum's analysis of Bob Novak went too far by David Keene The Right Thing (ACU's Keene slams Frum over NR article) WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? [Neocon / Paleocon respones...

    ArchiveE-mail AuthorSend to a FriendPrint Version   March 19, 2003 9:30 a.m. “Turned Their Backs”How Pat Buchanan et al. came to hate their country.EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece appears in the April 7, 2003, issue of National Review. "I respect and admire the French, who have been a far greater nation than we shall ever be, that is, if greatness means anything loftier than money and bombs." — THOMAS FLEMING, "HARD RIGHT," MARCH 13, 2003rom the very beginning of the War on Terror, there has been dissent, and as the war has proceeded to Iraq, the dissent has...

February 7, 2003 OUR NATIONAL GOON SHOW by Thomas Fleming In an ancient Goon Show skit (aired on March 13, 1956), listeners were warned of an epidemic of boot explosions that resulted from the depletion of "scradje" in the earth's crust. The government issued an emergency warning over the radio: To prevent yourselves exploding, remove your boots, reverse the buttons on your socks and walk backwards, holding a gas-stove above your head. I do hope this is only a temporary measure. Good night. The Goons (Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe) probably intended a satire on the Cold War obsession...

December 20, 2002 TRENT LOTT AND A FEW GOOD REPUBLICANS by Thomas Fleming It's not about race. Trent Lott is fighting to save a career that has done little to help either his country or his party. As the GOP opposition leader to Clinton, he was ineffective; as a conservative, he has trumpeted politically impossible opinions while selling out on practical details like taxes and big-government programs. Even his manner and appearance are against him: a prissy, fresh-out-of-the-bandbox fraternity president with not a hair out of place. I say nothing against his character, which only friends and colleagues know (and...

November 7, 2002 ONE CHEER FOR THE REPUBLICANS by Thomas Fleming The Emerging Democratic Majority has to be the most hapless title of the decade. The New Republic's John Judis (or his publisher) had obviously timed the book to coincide with the Democratic Party's stunning congressional gains in the mid-term elections. If Scribners hasn't remaindered the book by now, they had better move quickly. As a leftist, Judis used to be a perceptive social critic, but as a left-liberal, he cannot see beyond the end of the New Republic's masthead. The old Judis knew that liberalism was a bankrupt ideology...

NO SOONER had I arrived home from my five-week sojourn in Greece this Thursday, than I learned that some people had been talking about me. In an article called "The Virtue of Xenophobia," posted on TheTexasMercury.com, Jimmy Cantrell suggests, that, far from being a neoconservative – as my detractors often call me – I am actually closer to being a paleoconservative. "A paleo-what?" some readers may respond. Yes, I know. All those "neos" and "paleos" used to confuse me too. But I am finally beginning to understand what they mean. And I think Cantrell is right. Many issues divide neocons...